Crystal Feelings
by Litanya
Summary: Serena is a serious musician, but lately she has been troubled by dreams about a strange guy. She is frightened, but when she meets this guy in reality, will love bloom? FINISHED
1. Default Chapter

Crystal Feelings  
  
The young woman walked quickly down the crowded street, almost running in her haste to get away. She needed to get to her music, only her music could take her away from the nightmare she had just experienced. It had all begun when she had fallen asleep at her friend's place after a party. It had been a small party, and she had accepted the invitation to stay for the night, as it was rather late by the time the party finished. She had fallen asleep on the spare bed and straight away she began to dream.  
  
She was in a cave that was filled with darkness, and she could sense an uncomfortable presence in the air. She couldn't see a thing, and then out of nowhere something grabbed her and wrapped itself around her chest, getting tighter and tighter until she could hardly breathe. Light suddenly filled the cave and in the middle was a man who looked about her age. He was tall, about 6"3, with gorgeous blue eyes and dark hair that looked like it was all over the place while looking extremely stylish. As soon as she saw him, another machine came and grabbed him around the chest and he just stood there, not struggling at all. She could see the machine growing tighter and tighter around his chest without him seeming to notice. After a minute though, he began to scream, but not as loud as she was screaming for him. She didn't know who he was, but for some reason seeing him being tortured hurt her more than being tortured herself. The machine that was around her, she could now see that it was a machine, began to tighten again, until she couldn't breathe. Just before she blacked out though, words magically appeared in front of her. STAY AWAY FROM HIM OR THIS WILL HAPPEN.  
  
She continued to rush through the streets, determined to get to her apartment and get to her music. For Serena her music was everything, ever since she was in high school. Until she got to high school, Serena was a klutz who got bad marks in everything. When she got to high school, she decided to get down and study, but nothing really interested her that much, nothing inspired her. She told this to her form teacher, who had noticed the lack of enthusiasm in the girl. Her teacher had then suggested to her parents that Serena should learn an instrument. Her parents agreed to this and they bought her a flute for her birthday. From day one she had loved it. Even before she had gone to her first lesson, she had already figured out how to play most of the notes the instrument could play. After a year she had skipped up to 4th grade, and she devoted most of her time to playing, instead of hanging around at the games center. Because she was spending so much time playing though, her grades slipped even more until her parents decided that they wouldn't let her play until she had done all of her homework properly. Her grades then started to go up and up as she worked hard so that she could play her music. Now she is a professional flutist and music teacher at Tintern, and she uses her music to get her through problems in life, as it helps her calm down and be herself.  
  
Now it was a Sunday, and for once in her life, she had a day off from everything. "What a great way to start my day off" she thought to herself as she tried to push through the growing crowds on the street. She was VERY eager to get to her music, especially as the crowd was beginning to make her nervous. Her home wasn't very far away now, and she had just turned the corner when her friend Lita called out to her. "Serena wait!" she called from across the street. She was a tall young woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and eyes that were a sparkling green. She was dressed in a long green and gold floral skirt and an old- fashioned blouse; she was a cook at a nearby hotel and that was her uniform. She was obviously on her way to work. "Hi Lita! Feeling better?" Serena asked her as Lita arrived next to her in a few moments. Lita had been sick lately and her husband Ken was really worried about her. "Yep! I've never been better. I went to the doctors to see what was wrong with me and he told me that I was pregnant! Can you believe it? I'm going to be a mum!" Lita practically skipped with excitement. Serena felt a pang of jealousy. She hadn't even gone on a date for ages, and now Lita was pregnant. It wasn't fair, all of her friends were either married or engaged, but Lita was the first one to be pregnant. For some reason that made Serena even more jealous of Lita, and it awakened a jealousy for all of her friends. Why should they all have people to love and who love them when she couldn't? "That's great news! I'm really happy for you!" Serena gushed, hiding her jealousy to herself. After all, she didn't want to upset her friend. Lita had seen something flash through Serena's eyes though, and that made Lita feel a bit sorry for her little friend. "All she's got in life is her friends and her music, and now that we're all married or engaged, she basically only has her music," Lita thought to herself, "poor Serena!" "When's the baby due?" Serena asked her, trying to look her best as an excited friend, but Lita could still remember the pain that had flashed through her friend's eyes only moments before. "Ummm.. We're not entirely sure, but we think that it's due around June," Lita answered trying to think of a way to help her friend out. "That's near my birthday then," Serena said conversationally. She really was happy for her friend, but she still couldn't keep the jealousy out of her mind. Lita then had an idea. "I can invite Serena over for a little party, and invite some guys over, and maybe she'll hook up with one of them and finally fall in love!" she congratulated herself for having such a good idea. "Hey Serena, I'm having a party soon, to celebrate the news of the pregnancy, so can you send me times that you are available in the next few weeks? I'd really like you to come as you are one of my best friends, so I'd hate it if you couldn't come and be there for me," Lita said carefully to her friend who was now silent. She had to tread carefully and include the friend part because if she didn't, Serena would never turn up, as she wasn't really a social girl, being too caught up with her music. "Well, okay. I will try to come and I'll send you my schedule for the next 4-5 weeks, okay?" "Yeah! Thanks a lot Serena. Oops! I'm going to be late if I don't hurry up! See you later on then. E-mail me the schedule!" she called over her shoulder as she ran down the street to get to the hotel. Serena couldn't help but sigh with relief once Lita had gone. Yeah, she was her friend, but the dream and her new found jealousy were bothering her, and she desperately needed to play. While she had been talking to Lita they had walked toward her apartment, so it was only a short walk to get there. As soon as she got inside the messy, cramped living room she threw down her bags and took off her coat and just chucked it on the floor. "I'll clean it up later," she thought to herself as she rushed to her flute and music stand. As soon as she had gripped her instrument, she felt most of her worries floating away. Soon all her worries were gone and the room was filled with a sorrowful melody that she had made up by herself, a long time ago when she had been rejected by. something, it was too long ago for her to remember why she had written the melody, just that it was her favourite tune. She knew it off by heart and she played it with her eyes closed. The pressure of her dream had left her as soon as she had begun playing, but as soon as she stopped it began to haunt her again. Who was the man she had seen being tortured? Was it just another nightmare, or was it a dream that spoke the truth? She began to play a different melody, a delightful one with trills and fluffy notes, and she forgot her problems again, but as soon as she stopped the dream haunted her again. So she didn't stop all day.  
  
At about 6:30, she received a phone call from her friend Raye. She almost missed the call as she was so absorbed into her music, but at that moment her song had ended, so she had heard the phone. "Hi Serena, how are you?" Raye's voice came over the phone. She hadn't heard from Serena for almost 3 weeks now, and she was starting to get worried about her. Although Serena didn't go out often, she always phoned at least once a week to talk, but ever since she and Chad had gotten engaged, Serena hadn't called. Raye didn't know what was going on with Serena, but she assumed that her friend was a bit jealous. After all, Serena was the only one in their little friendship group who wasn't either engaged or married, and from the looks of it, she wasn't going to be anytime soon. It had been months since Serena had been on a date as far as Raye knew, and she was beginning to worry that Serena would end up all alone with only her music for company. "I'm okay Raye, how are you and Chad?" Serena managed to say without bitterness to her voice. She was feeling a bit rejected because all of her friends seemed to be leaving her, but Raye getting engaged to Chad was a big shock, as they had only been "going out" for a few months, while all the others had been going out with their husbands or fiancés for at least 2 years, so Serena was feeling as if her best friend had deserted her. "We're okay, my job's good and so is his, so we're doing okay," Raye was a lawyer, one of the best in the country, and Chad was an accountant, so they were doing more than okay. Raye had gotten her reputation as a lawyer pretty early, as she is only 25, and is one of the youngest lawyers in the country, a well as being the best. "That's good. Have you heard from Lita?" Serena asked, trying hard to keep the poisonous jealousy from creeping into her voice. She was softly fingering the notes to her music while she was on the phone. "Yeah! She told me the good news an hour ago. Isn't it great! She's going to be the first mum among us. I think that she's going to be a great mother.." Serena stopped listening to Raye on the other end of the phone as tears started to fall down her cheeks. She was going to be all alone forever, all her friends were already leaving her, and all she had left was her music. Her music was the only thing left in her life, so she embraced it. She sat there with the phone up to her ear, crying silently and fingering the notes to her mournful memory.  
  
End Of Chapter One 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
For the first time in his life, Darien Simata was unhappy. For some reason that he couldn't fathom, he was just.. not unhappy, but not too happy either, he decided. He was standing at a train station, waiting for the 7:00pm train that would take him home. He had had a bad day at work, and all he really wanted to do was sit down and watch some T.V. in his new apartment and get some piece and quiet. He had heard that in the apartment building, where he had just moved in yesterday, lived a very talented flute player. He hadn't heard her play though, and he didn't really want to. He wasn't a big fan of music; in fact he didn't really like it as it made it hard to concentrate. According to a friendly neighbor though, he was right next door to the young lady who played the flute, and they had told him that you could hear the music all over the building sometimes. The girl, Serena as the neighbor had called her, was very respectful of her neighbors and only played at appropriate times, whatever they had meant by that. What did the people in the building call an appropriate time? He hoped that she wouldn't be playing when he got back to the building; he wasn't in the mood for it. But as he hadn't heard her play last night, he supposed that she only played during the day time. Well, he hoped that she only played at night time.  
  
When he eventually arrived at the modern-looking building and walked through the door, he could have yelled with frustration. He could hear the beautiful, high pitched notes of a flute rising in a tragic melody that almost made his eyes water with the sadness that was in it. She certainly was a good player, he knew when to give people credit, but he wished that she would just stop playing and give him some piece. He wanted to go up there and tell her to stop, but something in the melody of the tune made him stop that thought and go to his apartment. What he had heard in the melody was an acceptance that the person was alone except for music, and that made him sad. But it didn't make him like her, not at all.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
A few days later, Serena was instructing one of her students on how to play her piece properly. The girl was a good player, but she needed to concentrate more on the story behind the piece, so she could express the story in her playing. "Are you okay Serena?" the girl, asked her, noticing how many times her teacher had been rubbing her eyes. "I'm fine Sakura; I'm just a little tired. Now how do you express." the lesson continued on. After the lesson had finished Serena sighed with relief. Although she enjoyed teaching, sometimes her students were a bit demanding with her, usually wanting to find out about her life. Sakura was one of the students that loved hearing about boys and other people's lives more than flute. As Sakura was the last one of the students Serena had to teach that day, she was free to go home. The orchestra wasn't rehearsing until the next day, so she had some free time on her hands. She yawned. Boy was she tired! She had been getting that dream over and over again ever since the night of the party and it had been keeping her awake a lot at nights. She had gotten no sleep the night before and it didn't help her cause that a new tenant at the building filed a request that she didn't play before 9:00 am and after 6:00 pm. Now she couldn't even play all of her fears away. Every time that she had that dream she woke up gasping for breath with tears coming from her eyes. She had stayed up all night the night before as she had been too scared to sleep. She packed away all of her things and said goodbye to all of the music staff of the school that was in the staffroom. She hopped on the next train to the station that was near her apartment, and walked back to her home. She walked into the apartment, dropped all of her things on her desk in the corner and pressed the button on her answering machine that played all of her messages. She had one from her friend Amy. "Hi Serena, its Amy. Did you hear the news about Lita? It's great isn't it? Just calling to say hi and to talk. Call me back, okay? Hear from you later." Serena sighed. Another call where she'd have to listen all about Greg, Amy's husband. At least she had a lot of spare time after 6:00 because of the "no playing after 6:00pm" policy. She could finger the notes while she talked to Amy and then she would have something else to concentrate on other than her friend's chatter about husbands. Amy wasn't too bad where that was concerned, but Serena was just feeling alone, and so any talk of husbands or fiancés depressed her. She'd phone Amy later, but as it was only 2:30, she would play until 6:00.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
"I'm worried about Serena," Raye confided to her friends as they sat around and had lunch, "I was on the phone to her last night, but I don't think that she was really listening. I asked her a question and she never answered me. I think that she's feeling left out because she is the only one who's not engaged or married. After all, she did phone me at least once a week until Chad and I got engaged. Then she stopped calling." Mina, Amy and Lita all looked at each other. "Yeah, I know. When I told her that I was pregnant, I was sure that I saw jealousy flash through her eyes. I must admit that I feel a bit sorry for her; all she's ever had is us and her music, and now we all are more preoccupied with other things. All she has left is her music," Lita agreed.  
  
"Even her music is being taken away. She told me last night that a new tenant in the building had complained about her playing, so she's only allowed to play from 9:00am till 6:00pm. She sounded really tired; I don't think that she is sleeping much. I'm worried about her too," Amy added, concern showing all over her face. "I feel guilty; I haven't talked to her for ages. Andrew and I have been too busy planning our wedding to notice anything else, so I haven't talked to her. I'm only here now because you guys practically dragged me away from preparations. I'm totally obsessed with the wedding, so I haven't noticed her behavior too much, but when I told her about my engagement, even though it was 2 years ago, she still had a jealous flash in her eye. I think that she probably believes that we are leaving her," Mina added to the conversation. She looked deep in thought while she was talking; probably thinking about her wedding. "I have an idea how to include her more," Lita offered, sitting up straighter in her seat. "Yeah?" Mina, Raye and Amy all said at the same time, unconsciously leaning in closer to Lita. "Well, I was thinking that we could throw a party soon, to announce my pregnancy or something, and we could all invite friends. We could try to hook Serena up with one of the guys that we invite and maybe they'll get along. Then maybe she'll have a friend other than us and she won't have to depend on her music so much. It's only an idea, but we can expand on it to make it work," Lita looked down and took a drink of her tea while the others thought about it. "I think it could work," Raye began slowly, "we'll just have to make sure that she comes and that the guy we try to hook her up with isn't a jerk. I have a friend who is a doctor who we could invite; he's not that bad except... he hates music, so they'll probably hate each other." "I have a friend who is very into music. His name's Alan and he is single. He might just be Serena's type.." The girls all grouped together and began to plan the party and what they were going to do.  
  
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He was bored. He had been watching T.V. for an hour now, trying to block out the haunting melody of the flute. It was before 6:00, so the mysterious player was still allowed to play, but it still annoyed Darien. He was home sick and he really didn't feel up to listening to the haunting melodies that the mysterious girl played. He had never seen the girl and he didn't really want to. He considered going upstairs and telling her to stop, but he didn't have the heart to. The girl sounded so lonely, as if everyone had left her. He didn't really want to listen to it, but he didn't want to take away the only thing she had left in her life. The phone rang and he answered it on the third ring. He didn't really feel like talking, as he was really not feeling well. "Hi, Darien here," he answered, lying back on his couch. "Hi Darien it's Raye. How are you?" "Not too good actually, I have a stomach bug of some sort, so I'm not really feeling well," he answered, rubbing a hand through his hair. He could still hear the melody of the flute in the background. "That's not very good. Listen, my friend Lita is having a party soon and she told us to invite some of our friends. The party will be in about 2 weeks time, so do you think that you'll be better by then? I'd really appreciate it if you'd come." "I don't know, I'll try to come, but I don't know if the hospital will need me then. I'll try to come, as I will probably be better, but I'll have to see." "Is that a flute I can hear in the background?" Raye asked him. "Um yeah. There's a girl in my new apartment building that plays basically all the time. It's driving me nuts!" "I think I know the girl you're talking about. She's one of my best friends and she's devoted to her music. She used to be less devoted to it until we all got engaged and married. Now she uses her music as her best friend and to express her feelings. Have you ever met her?" "No, I haven't. I feel really bad about restricting her playing hours, but the music really annoys me. I can't help it, but I really do hate music." "Yeah, but you should meet her. She's really sweet and although you feel really bad, she'll forgive you really easily. She's the kindest person I've ever met. She cares about everyone, even if she doesn't know them. She'll be coming to the party, so you can meet her there, even if you don't meet her before." "Her melodies are all so sad, it's like she's depressed or something. Anyway, how are you and Chad.?"  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Serena stopped playing at 6:00 on the dot. As much as she needed to play, she didn't want to offend the new tenant. She had never met him, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings. It wasn't his fault that he didn't like music, it was just his opinion. As soon as she put down her instrument though, the dream came back to haunt her. She hadn't slept for the past few nights and it was beginning to take its toll. She had hardly been able to see what notes she had to play in orchestra that morning and the conductor had ended up sending her home, thinking that she was sick. Serena did feel sick, but it was because she was so overtired. She couldn't sleep, as much as she wanted to. If she went to sleep, the dream would haunt her. It was even starting to come to her when she was awake. She had called in sick to the school, saying that she couldn't teach and she had been avoiding her friends. She always let her machine answer the phone now and she only called the person back when it was her family or a work related person. She only went outside her apartment to get food and to go to orchestra, as she was so haunted by the dream. She was scared of going out and finding this guy that made her heart pump in her chest, the guy that she cared about more than herself. She sat down on her couch and began to read her orchestral music to keep herself awake, as she couldn't play it.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Raye had to do something. She had tried calling Serena, but the call would go unanswered, even when she knew that Serena was home. No one had seen or talked to Serena for days and they were all starting to get worried. She decided that she would ask Darien to go see her, as everyone else was busy. He had agreed, so hopefully things would go okay for him. She really hoped that Serena was okay.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Darien walked up the stairs to the door of the mysterious flute player's apartment. It was past 6:00, so she wasn't playing for a change. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He heard the sound of a door closing quietly somewhere in the apartment and then the next minute the door opened and a young woman about his age stood in the doorway. She was about 5"6 with waist-length pale blonde hair and large blue eyes that seemed to be haunted by something. She went white basically as soon as she saw him and looked as though she was going to collapse.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Serena opened the door and felt as if she was in her nightmare. She could feel herself go white and she almost collapsed right there in the doorway. This guy, the one standing in her doorway, was the guy out of her dreams..  
  
End of Chapter 2 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
She was staring straight at the guy from her dream! She couldn't believe it! She tried to look away, to keep her eyes down, but she didn't want to seem rude. She looked up into his eyes and found that her heart was pumping in her chest. He was even more handsome in real life than he was in her dream. She could see everything out of her dream so clearly that she almost thought that she had fallen asleep. "Um, hi. My name is Darien; I'm the new resident here in the building. My friend Raye sent me here to see if you're alright. You do know Raye, don't you?" he asked cautiously. He thought that the girl was about to faint. Her eyes had puffy bags under them and she was swaying a little as she stood. "I'm fine. I'm sorry for making you come up here. I'll kill Raye when I next see her. Um, I know this sounds rude after you came up here to see if I was okay, but I have a lot of reports to do, so I have to get to work. I'm really sorry, but they're due tomorrow. Thanks for coming and maybe I'll see you sometime later," Serena answered very quietly before she almost slammed the door shut in Darien's face. Once the door had closed she leaned back against the door and just sat there with her head down and tears pouring silently out of her eyes.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
When the door shut in his face he felt offended. "She probably hasn't forgiven me for making her playing time shorter. Hmmm. she had to do reports, she must be a teacher of some sort," he thought as he walked back downstairs to his room. It then occurred to him that he didn't even know her name. He sighed as he entered his apartment and picked up the phone to phone Raye. "Hello, Raye speaking," Raye's voice came over the phone really bright and cheerful. "Hi Raye, it's Darien. I went over to your friend's place today and got brushed off rather rudely," he explained to her what had happened. "That's not like her to be rude like that. Are you sure that she's okay?" "Well, she said she was, but she didn't look that well to me. She looked as if she was going to collapse. I honestly was readying myself to catch her she looked so unstable." "I'm going to have to go over there soon then. Thank you very much for going there for me, I didn't have much time. I'm sorry she was so rude to you, Serena's not usually like that." "That's okay Raye; it isn't your fault that she is rude. That's her problem. She didn't even tell me her name. Anyway, I'll talk to you later." He hung up. He couldn't believe that Raye was sticking up for such a rude person. No, he was being unfair. Serena, that girl, could be sick. She had looked very pale and looked about to fall. She had also looked as if she hadn't slept for weeks. Even though she looked really sick, to Darien she had still been the most beautiful thing in the world. * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Raye walked up to the door of Serena's apartment and knocked quietly. She waited a few minutes, but there was not a sound coming from inside the apartment. She was worried. She was certain that Serena was home, so there were only 3 reasons why she wasn't answering the door. One: she couldn't hear the knocks on the door. That was unlikely because Raye was knocking quite loudly and there was no noise inside the apartment. Two: she might not want to answer the door. This was possible because she had acted so reluctantly when answering the door to Darien. Three: she could be unable to answer due to being injured. That last made Raye get out the keys to Serena's apartment. She had been Serena's ex-roommate before she had moved in with Chad and now Serena trusted Raye to keep a spare set of keys for her. Now she took those keys and opened the door to find a big mess. Serena was never a person who kept things neat, but even she would have cleaned up this mess. There were clothes all over the place, they absolutely covered the floor. The only things that were neat were her flute things; all of her flute books and her flute were all neatly put on her music stand, her flute unpacked. As she moved into the room she saw that Serena was asleep on the couch with a book on her knee. She looked very tired and pale, so Raye wasn't sure if she was just asleep or unconscious. Serena moved and started to wriggle as though she was caught by something and she seemed to be having trouble breathing. Tears started to pour down Serena's cheeks and Raye moved quickly to her side. "Serena! Serena can you here me?" she tried to shake the girl awake. Serena woke with a start. She stared up at Raye's face with tears spilling down her cheeks. Raye just held out her arms and Serena gratefully hugged her best friend.  
  
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An hour later, after Serena had finished telling Raye about her dream they were sitting down on the couch talking like they had done back when Raye still lived there. "Then, I saw the guy from my dream and, well. I fell in love with him right on the spot, but I can't do anything about it because of the dream. If the guy from the dream is real, then what if the dream is telling the truth?" Serena had decided to leave out the fact that the guy in her dream was Darien, as she didn't want Raye to know. Raye looked at her friend with pity deep in her heart. "Well, even if it's true it doesn't necessarily mean that he is going to be literally tortured; it probably just means that he's going to have a rough patch in his life. The same would thing might happen even if you don't marry him." "You don't understand! I've been having the dream for at least a month now and it gets worse every time I have it. Every time I fall asleep I get this dream, so I don't sleep if I can help it. It hurts me so much to see the same thing happen over and over again to him, I won't be able to take it much longer!" Serena looked up at her and made eye contact and Raye couldn't help thinking that they were the saddest eyes that she had ever seen. "Do you know who the guy is?" "Yeah, I told you that I met him the other day. He probably thinks that I am a spoiled, rude girl who he never wants to see again! And he doesn't even know my name," Serena answered sorrowfully. A conversation with someone came into her mind. "And she didn't even tell me her name!" wait a minute. hadn't that conversation been with. "It's Darien, isn't it?" Raye asked with a serious voice. Serena looked up from the magazine she had picked up and gasped. "He's been talking to you about me hasn't he? About how rude a girl I am. I knew it! I really shouldn't have answered the door, but then people would have worried and." "Don't worry Serena! He just told me that you never told him your name and that you were a bit rude to him. He probably thinks that you are still angry at him for cutting your practice time, or he thinks that you are sick, as he told me that he thought that you were going to faint," Raye interrupted. "I still made a fool of myself. I was so shocked that it was the guy that I almost fainted with shock. I was so rude to him because I didn't want to fall in love with him; I wanted to hate him with all of my heart. Unfortunately my heart had other ideas. As soon as I saw him my heart raced and now all I can think about is him and my dream. At least I can block out my dream when I play, but for some reason I can't stop thinking about him, even when I play. I must admit that a part of me wants to think about him, but the rational part of me knows that I shouldn't be thinking about him. Oh Raye, what should I do?" Serena was practically begging Raye to think of something, but she was at a loss. She had never seen Serena so passionate in anything other music. She now knew who she should try to set Serena up with at Lita's party. And the best part was that Serena had suggested him herself.  
  
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He sighed as he got to the building. It was 5:00 and there was no music coming from inside. Even though he hated music, for some reason it bothered him that there was no music. He had gotten used to the sound of it when he came home from work. He worked from 8:00am till 4:00pm most days, as he worked at a hospital. Sometimes he worked different hours, but the hospital usually only needs him during these hours because he wasn't a surgeon and there were other doctors working the night shifts that were more qualified than him, he had to admit. When he arrived in his apartment he played his messages on his machine. One of the messages on the machine was from Raye, reminding him that he had promised to come to Lita's party that night. That was probably why there was no music coming from upstairs. Serena was probably getting ready for the party, like he was supposed to be doing. Raye had said that it was going to be a casual party, so he dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. The party didn't start for an hour so he decided to catch up on a bit of reading. It was then that the music started up again. She must have been ready already. He remembered the rumour that it took women about 3 hours to get ready for a party and decided that it didn't count for every woman. The melody wasn't the one that Serena usually played, this one sounded as if she was trying to tell someone about how she was in love with someone she couldn't love, or something like that. It was weird. Before she had played her usual melody quite a lot, but this melody sounded practiced, as if this was now her favourite. It was strange. Something in her life must have changed. He didn't really understand why he cared when she had been so rude to him, but for some reason he did. Sometimes at night he kept on remembering her eyes, they looked so deep and he felt like he could drown in those eyes and be happy. It was a weird feeling. When he had first seen Serena his heart had started to jump, as though he had done a lot of exercise. At the time he had dismissed it as being nervous at meeting a girl who looked as if she was going to collapse, but now he wasn't so sure. All that he knew was that this girl was a girl that he absolutely HAD to get to know. And soon.  
  
End of Chapter 3. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
She looked around her, bored at what she saw. Lita was in the corner with Ken and everyone else was with their partners, so she had nothing to do. Raye and Chad were talking to Darien and Serena was glad that he was out of her way. He was bothering her by just being there and Serena had the feeling that Raye had set it up that he would come, just for her. She had avoided him the whole time, resisting to even look at him. She knew that if she just looked at him, her resolve would go and she would faint or cry or do both at once. So she just stood in the corner and hoped that everyone would ignore her. Everything didn't go to plan as she had hoped. She had hoped that she could just come to the party for 10 minutes and then leave, but after 2 hours she gave up on that idea. Every time that she would creep closer to the door, Amy or Mina or Raye or Lita would come over to her and say that she absolutely had to do this or that or this that and the other. It was really annoying. The only good thing about the night so far was that Darien was ignoring her. That was a really good thing. She figured that if she stayed in the corner and kept quiet, he would think that no one liked her because she was too rude and ignore her. If she started talking to people, he might think that she was a pretty popular girl and then he might talk to her because he might have thought that she was just sick before. She actually did feel quite sick, but that was just because she hadn't slept for ages. She was really bored now and she really wanted to go home, but she knew that she was going to be pounced on by her friends if they saw her go near the door. So she just stood there and felt really lonely, basically not moving at all.  
  
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Darien was annoyed. All night he had been trying to talk to Serena, but for some reason or another he had never been able to. Whenever he wasn't talking to anyone, she was. Whenever she was alone, he wasn't. Whenever he looked at her, he felt a strange feeling in his heart, a feeling that he'd never had before. He had a desire to know her, but she looked bored and never looked at him, as if she had absolutely no interest in him at all. When she had been talking to people, he hadn't wanted to interrupt, but now he wished that he had. Not that Raye and Chad were boring, but he just. He didn't know why, but he was uncomfortable talking to them when she was so close. "So Darien, what do you do at the hospital?" Chad asked him. Chad was finishing medical school and he was going to be a doctor in a hospital. "Well, I get to do doctory stuff," Darien answered, not really thinking. "What do you mean by that?" "Well, you just treat to people's injuries and diagnose them and stuff," Darien was starting to get bored. He hated talking about work. He hated it especially when he wanted to talk to Serena. He didn't know what spurred his eagerness to get to know the girl, just that he had to know her. "What do you mean by stuff?" Chad was really eager to know everything he could so he could get efficient as fast as he could. "Just stuff! It's the same as in a doctor's surgery," Darien said for about the tenth time that night. "Oh, are you sure?" "Yes Chad, I'm sure," Darien said, looking at Raye for help, but she seemed to be busy watching Serena out of the corner of her eye. He sighed and looked back at Chad, determined to get through the questions before the end of the party.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
She had no idea how long the party had been going on for, but she desperately wanted to end as much as she really wanted to talk to Darien. He was looking particularly handsome in the light of the room. He was dressed casually and he looked gorgeous. She had an urge to go over there and kiss him, but she knew now that he hated her. He had not looked at her once, as far as she could tell, so that meant that he was ignoring her. He wasn't coming over and talking to her, even when he wasn't talking to anyone. She couldn't go over and talk to him because she was feeling like she was going to faint just looking at him. The dream was haunting her when she looked at him, but for once she didn't care. She was in love with Darien and not seeing him hurt her just as much as seeing him and knowing she couldn't talk to him. She sighed. Lita came over to her then. "Hey Serena, having fun?" she asked. She knew that her friend wasn't having much fun but she still thought that she had to ask that to be polite. "Yeah, I guess so," Serena replied, noticing that Darien was now alone. It was like her friends had a plan to keep the two of them apart. She looked back to Lita and decided that their plan was for the best. After all she didn't want to talk to Darien; if she did she thought that she would faint.  
  
"You guess so? That sounds like you're not having fun," Lita replied, a bit offended. "I'm having fun, it's just that I'm really tired," Serena felt like she was going to faint and vomit at the same time. He was coming towards her with a determined expression on his face. "Are you alright Serena? You look really pale," Lita led her out to an uncrowded spot. Serena had an idea. "I'm fine; I just need some fresh air. I'll be fine if I go outside." "Okay, I'll come with you," Lita said, literally holding her friend up and pushing her outside. Serena had quietly fainted after she had said she would be fine. Lita took her outside and laid her down on her side. She had no idea why Serena had fainted, but she knew that it was just the strain that she was under. Raye had told her about the dreams that Serena had been having and so she had some idea of what was happening to her friend, but even Raye didn't know the whole story. Only Serena knew the whole story and she didn't have to tell anyone if she didn't want to. Darien came outside and saw Lita. He didn't see Serena on the ground until a second later. "Lita, what's happened here?" he asked, going to see what was wrong with Serena, "Did she just collapse or something?" "Um. yeah. She'll be fine, she's just really tired and she's under a bit of stress. She'll be fine," Lita said uncomfortably. She had hoped that nobody had seen them come out here, but obviously Darien had. He had looked as if he had wanted to talk to Serena all night, but for some reason Raye had not wanted to allow him to speak to her. Now, when Serena awoke, she would have to speak to him. Darien checked Serena out and decided that she was okay; she had just fainted from tiredness. She looked as if she was having a troubled sleep and she looked like she was having trouble breathing. "I don't get it, she's fine but she looks like she is having trouble breathing. Do you know if she has asthma?" Darien asked Lita who was standing back. "No she doesn't have asthma, she doesn't have anything wrong with her, she's really healthy," Lita replied, trying to catch Raye's attention. She wasn't succeeding very well. "Then why is she having trouble breathing?" he mumbled to himself as Lita finally caught Raye's attention. Raye came outside and joined Lita and Darien. "Did she faint?" she asked as she came outside. "Yeah, but she looks like she's having trouble breathing and it's bothering me a lot," Darien told her. "Oh. I wouldn't worry about that. It happens sometimes. I know how to deal with this, so why don't you go inside and let me deal with this. She gets really embarrassed about it," Raye explained to Darien, basically pushing him back inside. He went without a protest, but he was really curious. What was wrong with Serena that Raye knew about, but he didn't? He was supposed to be a doctor and know all about illnesses, and she was a lawyer who didn't know much about diseases. It was probably just something that Serena had told Raye that wasn't easily diagnosable. It was understandable. Raye was one of her best friends and she said that Serena got embarrassed easily. He decided that he would walk Serena home. He sat down to wait for her.  
  
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When Serena woke up the party was just finishing. She had tears pouring down her cheeks and she was gasping for breath. Raye was sitting next to her, and somehow she was outside. "What happened?" she asked Raye as she sat up. "You fainted. Lita managed to bring you outside, but Darien came too. Lita managed to get me out here and I managed to make him go inside, but I think that he's going to want to walk you home to check that you're all right. I'm sorry, but it was the best that I could do," Raye said, but something in her expression told Serena that Raye was glad that they were walking home together. "Thanks for covering for me Raye," Serena said as she got unsteadily to her feet, "I'll see you tomorrow." "Yeah, see you tomorrow Serena," Raye replied, watching her friend walk inside.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
As soon as she walked inside Darien came up to her. She almost fainted again, but she didn't. She held herself upright and made sure she ignored him. It didn't work. "Hi, I'm Darien. I came to your apartment the other day for Raye, remember? Are you okay now? You fainted before and you seemed fine to me, but you looked really sick. I'm a doctor, so if you need any tests done or anything, I can help you," he said all in a rush. He couldn't believe that he was talking to her at last. She was looking away, but she still seemed to be beautiful. "I was wondering if you would like to walk back to the apartment building with me. It might be a good idea in case you faint again." She looked at him then. "I-I can walk by myself thank you. I need to be by myself for a while. Thanks for asking though," she answered as she walked out of the room. "Wait!" he called and he rushed out after her.  
  
End of Chapter 4. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
"Wait" he called again, rushing after her and catching her by the arm. "What do you want?" she asked him coldly, looking away. "I just want to make sure that you are okay. If you go by yourself you might collapse again and as I'm going to your building anyway, I can help you if you do collapse," he explained. He was using it as an excuse, but he did actually feel worried about her. "I'm fine now, I'll be okay," she said and she started walking again, mumbling under her breath while she did so. Darien thought he heard her mutter something like "I won't faint if your not there," but he couldn't be sure. If that was what she had said, it made no sense to him. People didn't faint because other people were there. He ran up to her and just walked next to her. "I'm going to walk you home whether you like it or not. I don't want anything to happen to you. Raye would kill me if I let anything happen and you know it." She really wished that he would leave her alone, but a small part of her wanted him to stay with her; wanted him to hold her and never let go. "Whatever," she told him coldly. She walked quicker, hoping that he wouldn't notice her unsteady walk. "You said before that you had reports to do. Does that mean you're a teacher of some sort?" Darien asked quietly, trying to get to know her. "Yeah, I'm a flute teacher," she informed him shortly, hinting that she didn't want to be asked questions. He didn't take the hint. "Oh, what school do you teach at?" "Tintern," she tried to walk faster than him, but he seemed to be keeping up her quite easily. "I know where that is. It's a very good school. Do you enjoy teaching there?" he felt like he was putting her to question, but he just wanted to get to know her. She wasn't really very co-operative and he felt a bit annoyed that she wasn't offering up any conversation. "Yeah." "Fine then, I won't talk to you then," he told her, his voice strained with a bit of anger. He was more than a bit annoyed at himself as well as at her. He was annoyed at her the most of course, because he was just trying to be nice and help her, but she just blew him off! It was really annoying. They walked together in silence until they got back to the building. "See you later then Serena," Darien said as he went to his apartment, "remember if you need any help, I can try to help you." "Yeah, I'll remember," she replied as she went upstairs to her apartment, not looking back.  
  
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When she got back to her apartment Serena sighed as she got changed for bed. Why had she been so mean to Darien? He was only being polite. She knew that she couldn't love him, but she could just be his friend, couldn't she? A part of her argued that if she was friends with him though, she would love him even more and be spending more time with him. That would be really bad and so she was glad she had been so cold and distant with him, even though she had wanted to be warm and friendly to him. She sighed. Why was life so complicated?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Raye sighed as she watched them walk down the street together. Serena seemed to be trying to walk away from Darien, but he was keeping up. Raye sighed again as she realized that her friend probably was very angry with her. Even so, she couldn't help but think that Serena and Darien made a cute couple. The way they were walking also made them look like they were a couple. She couldn't help feeling guilty though. She could have helped Serena by taking her to her apartment, or by inviting her over for the night. The problem with that would have been that Raye wanted Darien and Serena to be together. It made sense. She loved him and Raye was pretty sure that Darien loved Serena. In Raye's book, that meant that they should be together.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Darien couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He remembered how her friend Lita had told him that there was nothing wrong with her. She had said that, but her face had said something else. For some reason Darien believed that there was nothing really wrong with Serena. He believed, for some weird reason, that she was just under a lot of stress from something. He didn't know why he believed it, but he did. The way his heart had pounded in his chest when he had looked at Serena made him uncomfortable and the way that he had worried so much when she had fainted. He didn't even know her very well and he was more worried about her than he was about himself. It was a weird feeling. No. it couldn't be. he didn't want to be in love. He had only just moved to a new place, he wanted to settle down before he fell in love. He wanted to live his life for a bit longer before he settled down with someone. He couldn't be in love! Besides, she had never been nice to him, so why did he have to fall in love with a girl who'd never be interested in a guy like him? Why? His mother had told him that he'd end up falling in love with a girl who wasn't interested in him. But then again, his mother had been joking then. She was right though. He sighed. Why did life have to be so complicated?  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
In the morning he woke up late. He could already hear the haunting melody of the flute in mid-song. He hadn't set the alarm because it was his day off work. He got one day a week off work and he planned to put it to good use, so he always slept in. He looked over at the time on his alarm clock. It read 10:30. No wonder she was playing. He dressed and then had an impulse to go talk to Serena. He wanted to invite her out to lunch and decided on an impulse that he would. He grabbed a breakfast bar and quickly ate as he brushed his teeth and combed his hair. Then he grabbed some stuff and headed out to Serena's apartment.  
  
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She was playing her flute when she heard a knock on the door. Without even getting up to look who it was she knew it was him. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Unfortunately she couldn't pretend that she wasn't there, as he probably had heard her playing. She continued to play and hoped that he would think that she couldn't hear him knocking. He knocked again, but she just continued to ignore him, hoping he would go away, but he obviously didn't know that. He continued to knock, growing louder each time. Finally she could take it no longer. She stopped playing and went over to the door. She had to restrain herself from throwing it open, she just opened it normally. She had been right, it was him. He was standing in the doorway with a bag that looked like contained books. He smiled at her and she wanted to melt on the spot. "Hi Serena," he said, flashing that gorgeous smile at her. As he did he couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked. She was wearing jeans and a pink top and he thought that she looked elegant in them. "Hi," she replied as shortly as she possibly could. "I was wondering if you could come out with me and go see a movie or something and then have lunch," he asked nervously, hoping that she would say yes at the same time he wanted her to say no. She thought about it. Her mind was shouting NO, don't go with him, but her heart was yelling YES. "Umm. okay, I guess. I'll just go get my bag," she answered and she walked into the bedroom cursing herself for being weak and Darien for being so. well lovable. She returned to the door, went out and locked the door behind her. "Okay, let's go," she said, trying to sound enthusiastic and not fall over at the same time.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
They went to see a movie and afterwards they went out to lunch. While they were looking at the menus that were on the table, Darien couldn't help but wonder at the change in Serena. She hadn't been cold to him once and she had been very nice to him. She had told jokes and answered questions; she had even asked questions. She couldn't get much more different than she had been the night before, and Darien was enjoying himself immensely. After lunch they walked back to their apartment building and sat outside talking. Serena hadn't been able to be hostile for very long; in fact she hadn't been hostile at all. She couldn't help enjoying herself and she found herself promising to go out with him again. The day had been amazing. They had talked about absolutely anything that they could think of and had found that they had a lot in common. Basically the only thing that they thought differently on was music. While she loved it, he hated it. It was strange that she loved someone who hated the thing that she was most passionate about in life. Then again, she didn't really share his great interest in poetry. She thought that it was okay, but she loved fantasy better. Darien though, was a huge fan of poetry and thought that fantasy was good also. "Well," she thought to herself, "there's a saying that describes this. 'Opposites attract.' At least he doesn't mind hearing music sometimes." She had enjoyed their time together so much before she realized that it wasn't a good idea to get too close to Darien. By the time she remembered that though, she had already promised that she'd meet Darien for dinner the next night.  
  
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What was he thinking? He had enjoyed the day, but what was he thinking asking her out for another date? She had obviously enjoyed the day too, but. that didn't mean he should have asked her out again. He shouldn't have done it, but it was too late now. After all, you can't invite someone somewhere and then uninvite them for no good reason. It just wasn't polite. He was just going to have to go and have dinner with her. It would be fun, after all, she's a good person to talk to and joke with. Anyway he wanted to go out with her. He always felt good when he was with her and thinking about her always brightened his day. That also meant that his day was always bright because he couldn't stop thinking about her. Anyway, he started preparing for the next night.  
  
End Of Chapter 5. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
3 YEARS LATER.  
  
Serena knew that Darien was going to propose soon. She also knew that she was a fool for getting into this position. "If only I hadn't talked to him, I wouldn't be so weak and still love him," she thought to herself as she picked up her instrument. The dreams still hadn't ended and she still woke up crying every night. Every time that she was with Darien though, she could forget the dream. She felt as if the dream was a test for her that she had to get through, so she just took it as it came. She sighed. She knew that it was a test, but she wished with all her heart that it was easier.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Darien decided that at dinner with Serena that night, he was finally going to propose. He was planning to take her out to a romantic dinner out near the sea in the moonlight and propose there. He wanted it to be really special and so he had hired a limousine to take them there. He had picked out the best engagement ring in the store and he had booked the best outside table at the restaurant. He was sure that Serena would love it as she was always admiring the moonlight. "Tonight is going to be the night," he told himself happily.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
She dressed up really elegantly for their date. She had a feeling that something strange would happen tonight. Something bad. She wasn't sure what it was, but if Darien proposed she planned to say yes. After all, life's too short to not live as if you'd die the next day. She walked out of the building to where Darien waited and gasped. He was wearing a tuxedo, with a red rose in his pocket. He was standing next to a limousine and as she approached, he opened up the door and offered her the rose. She laughed with delight. "Hi Darien! I didn't know that you were going to all this trouble," Serena exclaimed as she took the rose from his hand. "I do my best," Darien said mockingly, gesturing for her to get into the car. They got in and the driver started to move. The restaurant was a long way away, so Serena and Darien talked while enjoying the comforts of the limousine. SCREEEECH! Went the sound of the brakes suddenly, then they heard a CRASH! And the last thing that Serena thought of was Darien.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ring, Ring. Ring, Ring. "Hello?" Raye asked, talking into the phone. She heard someone sobbing at the other end of the phone. "Hello?" she asked again, getting a bit worried and impatient. "Raye, Serena- Serena and Darien were on their way to somewhere when-" the voice on the other end of the phone, Lita Raye guessed, stopped as she began to sob uncontrollably again. "What's going on Lita? Are they okay?" Raye asked, knowing that they couldn't be okay if Lita was acting like this. "Serena's in a coma and the doctors don't think that she will wake up soon, or if at all. Darien, well Darien is, Darien died," Lita said quickly and then she began to cry again. Raye didn't blame her. She too began to cry.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Serena seemed to be floating in some sort of dream world place. She couldn't help but think that it was a weird place. She was at a palace in the middle of a huge garden. The thing that was the weirdest though was that if she looked up at the sky, she could see the Earth. "Where am I? I seem to be on the moon, but that's not possible," she thought to herself as she floated down to the ground. "No Serena, it is possible. And the moon is exactly where you happen to be," a tall woman said as she appeared from behind a post. The woman was tall and pale, with white wings coming from her back. Her long almost white hair went down to the ground and her features were a lot like Serena's. "Who are you?" Serena demanded, but somewhere inside herself she knew who the woman was. "Why, I'm your mother, Queen Serenity," the woman announced. Serena wanted to say that it wasn't true, that the woman wasn't her mother, but for some reason, she accepted what Serenity had told her, "I know that you don't know me well, but I know that you know that I'm not lying. You always had good instincts Serena. You are very badly injured on Earth, just about to die, in fact. You can come and live here, with me and you can live. What do you say about that?" "No, I want to go live with Darien. I'm sorry," Serena answered, shaking her head. "Darien has already passed into the world of the dead. He died basically straight away because he had put himself between you and the car to save you. What do you say now?" "I just want to be with Darien. I don't care what happens to me as long as I'm with him," Serena replied, trying her hardest not to cry. "Are you sure Serena?" Serenity asked sadly. "Yes, I'm sure. mother," Serena answered after she had hesitated a bit on calling the woman mother. "Okay, but I'll miss you, my daughter," Serenity said sadly and waved her arm, making Serena go away from the moon and back to her body on Earth.  
  
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When Raye arrived at the hospital, she found that doctors were rushing around everywhere. She spotted Lita sitting on a bench in the waiting room and went over to her. Lita's eyes were still red from when she had been crying and she looked like she was about to burst out into tears again. Lita stood up as Raye approached and Raye hugged her. They both burst out into tears again. "I'm not allowed to see Serena, even though family is supposed to be allowed to visit," Lita told her after they had calmed down a bit. Lita was Serena's step sister, so she was family, she should have been allowed to visit. Just then a doctor approached the two women. Lita stood up fearfully. "How is she?" she asked, worry showing in her voice. The doctor sighed. "I'm really sorry Lita, but she died just a few minutes ago," the doctor said sadly and she turned and walked away, leaving the two women behind her crying their hearts out.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Meanwhile, in the world of souls, Serena found Darien and they stayed together forever.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
